Sunday, September 29, 2013

The Long Awaited, Much Anticipated Post About Our Trip to Oregon!

It's been 4 weeks since our trip already, I'm such a terrible blogger!

Upon our arrival at PDX Josh's sister picked us up and took us straight to a brew pub down the street from her apartment. The place was Sasquatch Brewing Co. I knew we were in Portland when our server was telling us about the specials and said, "...and your vegetarian option for tonight is..." That sort of thing NEVER happens in Kansas!

We played it cool that night and stayed in. Josh and I were super tired from our long day of travel and we needed to adjust to the two hour time difference. In the morning we walked down the block to a little park area that had food carts. We had some delicious gluten-free waffles and then stopped by the farmers market. I have never seen such colorful shiny berries in my life! I'm certain I'll never have a berry quite and delicious as those.

We also got some kale, tomatoes, peppers, lemon cucumbers, pesto, jerky, and cider.

That day we met up with our friends, Matt and Emily for an early dinner (using our farmers market loot) and then headed to the park for a movie! We arrived early to get a decent spot and then played bocce ball until dark.

They take bocce very seriously.

Monday, we explored the city and later met up with Emily who took Josh and I to the coast. We got there at sunset, which was totally perfect! As we got ready to leave the lookout we got a special treat! The local elk herd decided to show itself.

We camped that night at a nearby campground so we could enjoy the whole next day at the ocean. In the morning we went to a surfer cove and watched the waves and drank some beers while lounging in the sand.

Josh and Em walking Hug Point.

Later we went to another beach where we had to brave the waves to get around some rocks to get to a place called Hug Point where the Oregon Trail passed along the beach. It's this rock trail that is only passable at low tide. There are anchors in the rock still that the wagons used to keep from being swept off into the ocean. As a girl who was enamored with the idea of the Oregon trail, it was so exciting to be able to walk a part of history.

The anchors at Hug Point.

Josh and I at Hug Point.

Next we went to a coastal town and had a fresh seafood dinner before heading to the beach again to see some tide pools. We saw anemones, star fish, tiny crabs and lots of seagulls. Needless to say, the coast was my most favorite part of the trip.

I convinced Josh to pretend like he likes me!

After getting home from the coast we quickly showered and went downtown to hang out at what is now Josh's favorite place in Portland, Ground Control. It's a 21+ arcade where all the games are classics from childhood AND they serve beer! And because it's Portland, it's good beer! We spent a lot of quarters that night!

The next day was the day we planned to go to the Columbia River Gorge. It was also the only rainy day we had all week. The view wasn't quite as spectacular as it would have been but something about the mist and fog made it pretty great anyway. While there we climbed Beacon Rock. It's 500ft tall but the path up to the top (which was hand built nearly 100 years ago) is a mile.

On Beacon Rock.

View of the Columbia River Gorge from the top of Beacon Rock.

After the day on the gorge we hurried back to downtown Portland

for a brew tour on a picnic table you must pedal in order to get to the next brewery. It was pretty fun way to see the city and get to drink some delicious beer.

The next morning was time to head back east, to Colorado for a wedding. Our friends committed their lives to each other high in the mountains just days before the floods came.

After the wedding we headed back to the heartland. We were so happy to be home, shower in our bathroom, sleep in our bed and have our own space again. It was a great vacation, and we definitely will go back.

If you're interested in looking at my art prints visit my page! Heather Peters Photography Or if we're friends on facebook, all edited and unedited photos will be posted there!